NIRVANA

NOTE: I wrote this page over a year ago and since then my attitude towards Nirvana has somewhat softened. I can't be fagged to re-write the page and I DO still think they are overrated and overly revered BUT, when all is said and done, they weren't all that bad. The Pixies, on the other hand...

Well here we are at Nirvana, one of my least favourite bands ever. Well, in fact, I all but hate Nirvana. Why the "all but"? Why not just say straight out "I hate Nirvana"? Well, even I have to admit they made some pretty good music. Any band with their amount of prestige and inordinate influence are going to be responsible for music of some decent quality. I really hate Nirvana for two reasons, though. Firstly, because the "musical revolution" they set into motion in the early nineties had a wholly detrimental effect on rock music. Secondly, I hate Kurt Cobain. To paraphrase Chuck D: Kurt Cobain was a hero to most but he never meant shit to me. Indeed, motherfuck him and Eddie Vedder. Yeah, everyone loves Cobain apart from me. He never stopped moaning and his suicide only succeeded in elevating him to an exalted status far beyond his actual talent. Give me Jon Bon Jovi any day of the motherfucking week.

But first let's give a bit of credit where credit's due. Nirvana were a very important and influential group. The musical revolution they spearheaded called "grunge" wiped the world clean of hair metal bands and set in motion an utterly different serious, angsty rock movement. I'll get onto that in the next paragraph so I'll stick to the band themselves at present. Well, I say band but really Kurt Cobain is the only member that really matters. Now-Foo Fighter Dave Grohl, who joined after their first album, is a talented drummer and I've no beef against bassist Chris Novoselic but Cobain was the real driving force behind the band. He was undoubtedly a good song-writer (although not fantastic) and surprisingly, a decent guitarist. Indeed Nirvana's best songs are often those where Cobain actually does something interesting with his guitar be it a blast of feedback or innovative riff. Unfortunately he often just stuck to boring power chord sequences and, doubly unfortunately, this is what he came to be identified with. Still, particularly on "Bleach", Cobain's guitar technique is pretty good and, above all, interesting. I guess Cobain was also a good lyricist but, to be honest, his self-indulgent whining just does me in. I'm sure he was genuinely depressed but, Jesus, do we have to hear all about it? Anyway, Nirvana are a really good band but I could come up with a (long) list of better bands, some of whom get nowhere near the same amount of recognition. The Smashing Pumpkins and Radiohead in the nineties alone. Not to mention the likes of MC5, Aerosmith, Van Halen, the Doors and, just for my friend Moz, the Ramones.

As for my "Nirvana killed rock music" claim have a read of this paragraph (or should I say "mini-essay"?). On their Keep the Faith album Bon Jovi included a song called "Blame it on the Love of Rock'n'Roll". Cheesy sentiment though it is (and coming in 1992 something of an anachronism) it is a song that you wouldn't find the cohorts of Nirvana ever doing. Loath as I am to use a historical comparison as an example (a lazy and erroneous habit) the grunge revolution of 1991-ish is often compared to the punk revolution of 1977-ish. Where the punks rid the world of those hideous dinosaur bands (the fact that they didn't really is another matter) the grunge bands (eg. Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Alice in Chains, etc.) destroyed the music scene that had seen the hair metal bands like Poison and the Scorpions rise to an awful level of prominence. There are two elements that the punk revolution embodied (a two point manifesto if you will): firstly the DIY attitude in contrast to the boring virtuosity of the previous musical order, and, secondly, a return to the spirit of rock'n'roll which the likes of ELP had obscured. Grunge certainly was a promoter of the DIY ethic but I don't really think that is that important. How many great bands were actually bad musicians? The Stooges and the Ramones. Generally, most great bands all had a decent level of music competence. In any case, of all the accusations you could level at the odious Pearl Jam they are, at least, good musicians. On the other hand, and much more importantly, there is the embodiment of rock'n'roll. Now let me ask you this: who is more like Jerry Lee Lewis or Elvis Presley - Kurt Cobain and Eddie Vedder? or David Lee Roth and Axl Rose? Rock'n'roll isn't about moaning about how your old man used to slap you around. It's about, well, rock'n'roll. Now I don't doubt something needed to happen in the early nineties and that mere fact, more than anything, is probably why something did happen but that doesn't necessitate it was for the greater good. As far as I am concerned there was more rock'n'roll in the eighties than there was in the nineties. I find that hard to dispute. I'm not saying nineties music was a complete write-off but I don't think it was any great shakes either. Personally, I think rock'n'roll is on the way back. Say what you like about style over substance (and in many cases accurately) at least the likes of the Strokes, Hives and the White Stripes have a bit of rock'n'roll in them. Thank God. Kurt Cobain ended his suicide note with a line from Neil Young's "My My Hey Hey", "it is better to burn out than fade away". In that same song there is the line "rock'n'roll will never die". And more than anyone, Mr. Cobain did his best to deny those very sentiments.

From: Chris Carlisle

Hi,I read your reviews of Nirvana's albums and agreed with a lot of what you had to say. Even though I would have to ultimately admit that I have been and probably still am a Nirvana fan, I am also able to criticise them quite harshly, often in ways similiar to yourself. I'm not entirely sure whether the terms 'commercial' and 'alternative' are really appropriate. They were the terms Kurt used to use, but I think that saying 'left-field' or 'left of centre' as opposed to 'conservative' or 'radio-friendly' would be more appropriate.

From: ScopeMocha@aol.com

While I think its respectable that you can be the kind of critic who KINDA separates his emotions from the reviews, by appreciating good content for what it is, I think if Nirvana got hardly any airplay and you didnt have the subconcious memories of hundreds of teenage girls talking about going down on Kurt Cobain, that you wouldnt have so many bad things to say about these guys. As far as Kurt's whining goes, I dont really hear it a lot. It's on a few songs, but I think he's more into being dark then complaining. All I have to say is the angst ridden people I've known early on are well and happy later in their lives, those who are disgusted by it have broken down or had major panic attacks later on.Food for though thats all.
It's also funny that you got this hateful or "all but hateful" attitude towards corporate grunge and how ooohh oooooh insidious it is.. ooohh... baad.... yes very true, but you seem to be quite the Bon Jovi fan, which seemed a little ironic to me, since thats some of the most commerical rock out there!!! I dunno maybe corporate rock is just what it is, yet corporate grunge being a dark undergruond style that was polished and exposed, making it more "evil". I think both suck personally. I don't know how you can bitch about some of Nirvana's bland songs and powerchord structures yet say the Ramones are a much better band, which had songs consisting of sniffing glue accompanied by 3 chords (and I don't care who many times everybody says it was great cuz it was sarcastic grrrr!!! hehehe) I guess ur the kinda guy who just sees the dividing line being the Ramones and Nirvana as the Ramones as being into " bring rock n roll back to bein rock n roll", which is cool and I usually feel like a dork for not liking the Ramones since everybody else ( including Kurt I think) thinks they were cool, but I found plenty plain rock in Nirvana as well even though it has that dark undercurrent. but hey being a highly manic depressive 17 year old drop out, my chemicals just birth preferences of a different nature i guess. Alls I'm sayin is the only real bone you have to pick with them is the tone of their music, which is COMPLETLEY subjective and is kinda distasteful when real personal grudges and opinions are voiced in reviews. Any thing else u got against them seems kinda contradicted by other bands u seem to enjoy. if the Ramones got heavy MTV airplay and everyone played like them would yah hate them too :-)

[Actually, I'm not a particularly big fan of the Ramones, I mainly used them as example to annoy a friend of mine. But yes, I don't care either way about the simplistic song-writing, it is the rock'n'roll that counts. Compare the Ramones' "Rockaway Beach" to, say, "Dumb" or "Rape Me" and the former's superiority is clear to all but the most naval-gazing of angst-ridden teenagers. And yes, I certainly am quite the fan of Bon Jovi. In short, growing up in the nineties and not liking Nirvana... well, I'm sure you can imagine the chip on my shoulder - JF]

From: IllIIIIllIlllIll@aol.com

I read your review, and somehow I got the impression that you do not like Nirvana. Fair enough, there's no arguing opinion, but you did make a few odd points that did irk me to the point of writing this foolish email. First, I should clarify where I'm coming from. Skip over it if you bore easily, or simply don't care. *I like the band, I was 13 when In Utero was released, took to them. I'm biased, but not a fanatic, there's no tattoo on my ass, and the appeal has worn off over the decade. I've spun the albums enough to have heard the flaws. Strangely, I don't disagree with your ratings of the albums, I'd actually give all of the albums lower grades, In Utero being higher*
You obviously don't like Nirvana, but when it comes to explaining why, you're schizo, you don't know what you think. You say Nirvana was murky, too cynical, too depressive, emotionally raw, whatever wording you used. Fine, your taste, but then you go and give a flawless review to Joy Division's Closer, definitely murky, and Drake's Pink Moon, undeniably depressive, as well as kudos to Dylan's "Its Alright, Ma (I'm Only Bleeding)", hugely cynical. Don't misunderstand, all of which are better than anything that Nirvana did, but the truth is that you don't dislike Nirvana because they're cynical. You dislike them, and they are also cynical.
You're blaming the band for the grunge phenom that came after the band broke. The exploitation was not their fault. Unfortunately, it happens to anything that is successful; at least in America. If pigeon cooing was marketable, there'd be an army of suits running through the streets with butterfly nets. Its the music business, emphasis on business. Back on track, you also accused the band of churning out 'boring, slick, corporate grunge', you even said a song followed the "stereotypical grunge blueprint". Nirvana didn't follow a blueprint, they created it. The mimic bands like Bush, and even your beloved Radiohead, early on, should have given them songwriting credits. Grunge became lucrative because of Nirvana, and later in spite of the band.
Nevermind was produced for a couple hundred dollars by a relatively unknown producer from Wisconsin (an American state filled with nothing but farms, cows, and painfully friendly people). I'm also having a hard time believing that a stuffed suit was pushing the band toward writing "Polly", "Rape Me" or anything else on the In Utero album, for that matter; excepting "All Apologies". In Utero was as defiant to corporate music as any album since Plastic Ono Band. I'd go on, nitpick here and there, everywhere else, but I've already spent much more time than I should have. To close, Nirvana made pretty songs, loud-soft structure, with dark lyrics. Not the best music ever created, but not as far off as you think. They killed off lipstick metal, and for that they should be given much respect, and they usually are, except for those few closet Bon Jovi fans who are still waiting to hear that important "Wanted: Dead or Alive, part 2" on the radio.

[Most of what you say is entirely fair comment. The long and short of it is that I just hate grunge music. On that I am entirely consistent (and that's precisely the reason I am not keen on early Radiohead). But as you have no doubt already read, the grunge revolution was not a good thing for rock music. The only really great nineties bands were those that strove to ignore grunge (Radiohead, perhaps Pavement). Van Halen, Bon Jovi and Guns n'Roses are all better than any grunge band you care to mention (especially Pearl Jam). And that's the truth - JF]

From: Bloke Chap

You've got a lot of good points about Nirvana there, and also about grunge but.... really..... please....
Bon Jovi?
If getting rid of hair bands was the only good thing grunge did, then why isn't Jon bon Jovi dead? Bon Jovi were only outclassed by Europe as the nadir of Hair bands. The man was in Ally McBeal. Think about it.
Incidentally, Charles R. Cross's Cobain book is worth reading as it's a good book in its own right, and gives you a good background into the music scene behind Cobain as well as his writing.

From: TeeNSpiRiT67KC@aol.com

how could you hate kurt?he died for all of us.and if you think he killed himself you're wrong! HE WAS MURDERED.

From: Eva

A great collection of artists, however the purpose of this note is to question you why judge and critices artists such as Nirvana just because it is not of your liking. Nirvana may be considered an extrodinary artists in some eyes and not in others. Personally I am not a big fan of Nirvana but i can at least sit back and appreciate their music, like any music. Judging others is a reflection of judging yourself. Maybe consider embracing music rather than criticising them.

From: Damien Davis

Sir, you're entitled to your opinion of the much-maligned Kurt Cobain and his music. However, I respectfully disagree. I speak for many hardcore Nirvana fans when I say you simply don't understand his music: It's simple, direct and just plain rocks! Kurt doesn't paint a baroque landscape, true... but that's what made his music so interesting: no hammed up vocals, no longwinded flashy leads, no overemotional, sissy, predictable power ballads or any of the other frivolous excesses of the 80's. I mean c'mon... You actually prefer Jon Bon Jovi to Kurt? hahaha. OMG.. Don’t get me started on those lame glam bands and the banality of their music (Def Leppard, Bon Jovi, Motley Crue, Skid Row, Poison, etc., all sound the same to me: dull and trite).
In regard to Kurt's supposed suicide, I think you should visit several websites of interest: http://www.cobaincase.com and http://www.justiceforkurt.com. To your chagrin I'm sure, the legend of Kurt Cobain is growing ever larger. In fact, he's the topic of many interesting discussions on other musicians' message boards. Hey, I was as skeptical as anybody out there; but when the private investigator that Courtney Love hired to find Kurt thinks she hired someone to kill the poor man, that's enough to give me pause. Regardless of how he died though, he was an inspiration to me while he was alive (musically speaking, of course, not the way he lived his life a la drugs, his poor taste in women and the like). Kurt Cobain deepened my love for music; and for that, I am eternally grateful.
Regards,
Damien, a diehard Nirvana fan
PS. Conversely, Chuck D isn't shit to me; but it's not like the words of another classless (apparently he has no respect for the dearly departed), has been rapper with no staying power in the music industry carries any weight with me.

[Just to clear up any misunderstanding I dislike as much as the next man all those hair-metal bands you mention. Bon Jovi and Guns n'Roses are the only two bands from that era that I respect and appreciate (coincidently the only two that were not killed off by the grunge movement) - JF]

From: John Yates

You don't like Nirvana. You do like Jon Bon Jovi. You are a fucking joke. Your Nirvana reviews have just made me angry. Where do you live? I'll fucking have you.

From: Anonymous

I am writing to say the 'Jack Feeny' so called Nirvana review is certainly not comprehensive ...but instead sounded like a 2nd rate Bowling Stoned jack off Review.
Everyone is entlited to their own opinion, however the points raised are baseless and exactly why Kurt was so FUKING exassperated with all this BULLSHIT to begin with!
For someone who likes cock rock bullshit bands like Van Helen , Bon Jovi and so forth ....and having the audacity to put Pearl Jam in the same sentence as Nirvana proves you do not understand Nirvana.
You have not critiqued Nirvana or their music, you have merely judged and boxed Nirvana and Kurt as grunge ..and might I add had a whinge yourself. To appropriately critique something you must be able to thoroughly understand the band and what they were trying to achieve with their music. Your review does not achieve any dialogic justice in these terms.
Moreover ..you only illustrate exactly what Kurt was so over.....and as he says himself in a journal... "the amount of people who came to JUDGE us. Not be at a bar, get drunk, watch some bands and have fun...."
Nirvana and Kurts riffs were simple yet effective and moved away from overindulgent masturbatory time sigantures and wanker lyrics. His lyrics are succinct and simple yet powerful cause of their irony, wit and sarcasm.
RIP KURT miss you heaps

After the negativity (and pretentiousness) of my introduction I can at least start the actual reviews with a bit of positivity. I like this album. It is probably the only Nirvana album that I actually do like but there it is, I like it. I guess given that it was released before grunge had really taken off it has a far less odious significance than Nevermind and it is easier to enjoy for what it actually is. Namely, a great alternative rock record. I don't need to bang on about the influence felt by this album or the good stadium rock bands whose reputations were sullied. I can simply say: "I like it". Still I wouldn't like it, or give it a high rating, if it weren't simply a great album. Like I intimated in the introduction Cobain is actually attempting something interesting with his guitar and far fewer boring power chord run-throughs. What about that riff for "Negative Creep"? Can you dig it? I dig it. Big style. I just dig "Negative Creep". At present, probably my favourite Nirvana number. It is played with so much energy and gusto that I just don't think is present on the rest of the albums. Even the more aggressive numbers on In Utero are aggressive more from a angsty point of view, which overshadows them a bit. Basically, I just dig "Negative Creep". What else do I dig? Howsabout "School"? Maybe the riff is a little like generic grunge but I guess at this stage it wasn't really generic. And is it me or are the sentiments about how he has to miss his break-time? God, he'll moan about anything given half the chance. Like how everyone hates him and he wants to die. "About a Girl" sure is a pretty poppy effort but it still sounds great. Only two chords as well. Like the Ramones but at the same time not like the Ramones. I have to say I'm not madly keen on the obscure cover "Love Buzz". I might be wrong but I seem to think it is regarded as a real fan favourite. I can't say it is one of mine, although I'm obviously not a fan, but it is certainly another of the more energetic cuts. And what about that crazy feedback guitar solo he does? Why did he have to stop doing things like that? Nirvana could have been a great band if it weren't for Nevermind. God, I bet you don't hear that often. While we're still on the praise side of things here's an honourable mention for the album opener, "Blew". Again, like "School", it is more straightforwardly grunge but again, like "School", it is simply a great song. Oh, and "Scoff" as well. Coming after "Negative Creep" in the running order you might expect it to suffer a bit in comparison but it barely does. Any song with the singer screaming "give me back my alcohol" gets the thumbs up from me. OK, time for a few negatives. Firstly, the rest of the band are hardly of a great standard, the drummer in particular, so apart from Cobain's screaming vocals and guitar the music does seem a little uninteresting in parts. No wonder he fired most of them after completing this album. On the other hand, occasionally Cobain lets the side down with some slightly lesser compositions. "Paper Cuts" relies far too much on a sludgey riff and is fairly negligible as well as instantly forgettable. My copy of the album (the standard Geffen one, I presume) includes a couple of b-sides on the end. What this basically means is that the album ends with three bad songs instead of one. "Big Cheese" ain't terrible (but it ain't good either) whilst "Downer" mostly is. The official ending for the album, "Sifting", is painfully poor, unfortunately. It aches on for ages and is just soooo boring. The aspect that I really like about this album is the energy and, unfortunately, the finale seems devoid of any. Still, I can't really knock marks off for bonus tracks so I'll keep to my near-classic rating. Maybe I am inflating the grade to compensate for my subjective preferences but fuck it. It looks like I'm more alternative when I give the less commercial albums higher marks anyway.

From: Geoff Govier

how in the name of anything can u give "bleach" a 9?????
yet u gave mer de noms by a perfect circle a 7????
im sorry i like ur site, but i just dont understand, mer de noms is the most beautiful album since "grace" and bleach is nothing but a blurry fuzz of self-indulgent noise.

On the Dead Boys song "3rd Generation Nation" Stiv Bators sings the line "I could have made money playing corporate rock". And after a punkish and impressively energetic debut album that is exactly what Kurt Cobain did. And he knew it. And he hated himself for it. Yes, ladies and gentleman, this is nothing more than a corporate rock classic. A Slippery When Wet for the grunge generation. And it certainly lacks Slippery When Wet's entertaining sense of fun. I could try and lie and give this 7* or 8* on account of it being boring and insidiously bland but, alas, I'm trying to be as objective as possible and that entails me giving this nothing less than 10* no matter how much (like Kurt himself) I hate myself for doing so. It does have a couple of duds on it but really the consistently immaculate level of songwriting exhibited simply demands 10*. And, God, doesn't it piss me off. Take "Smells Like Teen Spirit" for example. It is probably the very embodiment of this album. A great song, granted, but infuriatingly influential and unpalatably cynical. Given I just hate grunge I simply hate this album. I hate it with a passion and I always have done. I feel I ought to add that even though I've awarded it 10* it doesn't entail it is one the top ten greatest albums ever. It certainly ain't a Sgt. Pepper or OK Computer. It is probably about as good as the aforementioned Slippery When Wet or Number or the Beast. Yes, that good. Let's abandon this objective stance for a moment and deal with the moments on this album that I do actually quite like. I like "Drain You". It has a good melody and is pretty catchy and not too obviously grungey. I like "Polly". The rather disturbing thing is that the lyrics (about the rape and torture of a woman) could have been happily sung without a trace of irony by such cock rock luminaries as AC/DC's Brian Johnson and Axl Rose. I'm not sure if that was Cobain's point but even so it is a good one. Furthermore it is simply a good song. Finally I like "Territorial Pissings". It is, perhaps, the only punk rock song on the entire corporate rock exercise. Obviously the production is far superior but otherwise it could quite easily have slotted into "Bleach". And, given the level of songwriting on here, it would easily have been one of the best songs. And in a backhanded sort of way that contains a level of praise for this album. The song writing is simply great. Most of the numbers consist only of generic grunge progressions but the Ramones showed, fifteen years before, that repetitive chord progressions need not hinder great songwriting and, hats off to Cobain, on here it certainly doesn't. Like "Smells Like Teen Spirit", "Lithium" is also a veritable grunge classic. Both songs take me back to when I was a wee lad going to night clubs for the first time and you'd hear those two songs, guaranteed, every night. Often "Smells Like Teen Spirit" would be played back-to-back with Rage's "Killing in the Name" for maximum moshing effect. The third great hit from the album is, obviously, "Come as You Are" but I can actually still draw some pleasure from listening to that one. I couldn't quite say why, but there you go. I guess I need to stress, that even though I really hate this album and most of the songs on it, they are still great. Odd, isn't it? Well, at least I'm not trying to kid you and myself by claiming I dislike them because they are bad songs. Speaking of bad songs, though, what about the final duo of "On a Plain" and "Something in the Way"? They suck, and I mean that objectively. Well "On a Plain" I guess has a little songwriting worth but really it is wholly generic and utterly uninteresting whilst "Something in the Way"... now that just sucks plain and simple. It is soooooooo slow and Cobain just whines all the way through it. "It's OK to eat fish because they don't have any feelings." Any worse lyrics than that you can send to me at the usual address 'cause I ain't heard them. Ugh, terrible. Still, the rest is all classic. Classic corporate rock, though. What happened Kurt? Almighty dollar too good to turn down. I realise the album cover is meant to be satirical but, let's face it, the music within hardly backs that up. Still, in a backhanded sort of way, this is probably the greatest album whose quality is indirectly proportionate to the extent that I actually like it.

From: Benjamin T Wallis

I certainly understand you disliking an album because it is misrepresented. For example, Nevermind is usually painted as the first rebellion against corporate rock, when, really, as you noted in your article, it is just a different approach to embracing pop music. This sort of thing can certainly make a listener angry about it. The trick is to not let others' opinions ruin otherwise pleasurable music.
My favorite Nirvana song is "Polly". It makes me forget that I'm listening to the definitive grunge album. When I listen to "Polly", all I think about is the soft voice of Mr. Cobain and the terrible anguish of the protagonist. If at such delicate and vulnerable moments I was to scoff at the idiocy of other folks, of course I wouldn't enjoy the music!

I don't know if someone famous has already said this but I'm going to say it anyway: the level of a songwriter can often be measured by the quality of their b-sides. Radiohead are famed for their great b-sides. Surprisingly Oasis released some great b-sides and the Smashing Pumpkins' b-side compilation Pisces Iscariot is simply a really good album in its own right. It would therefore seem that poor ol' Kurt is nothing more than a decent songwriter. This ain't a particularly bad compilation but it hardly puts any other bands' official works to shame; as you might argue Pisces Iscariot does. I suppose you might argue that it only includes the early-ish b-sides before Cobain had properly matured as a song-writer. Boo-hoo, I say to you. Pisces Iscariot was released at a similar stage in Corgan's career and furthermore Nevermind is Nirvana's best album so surely the b-sides from those sessions must be sufficiently good. Apparently not. I was toying with the idea of giving this 6* but I guess, for the most part, the songs are at least decent enough to prevent this being a really mediocre compilation. Surprisingly most of the songs are all really short, usually under two minutes, and the long ones are seemingly the worst anyway. Let's deal with the good songs first. The album opener "Dive" is pretty much a great song. Energetic and memorable, you won't hear me complaining about that number. "Stain" is also pretty energetic. The alternative version of "Polly" is simply speeded up but it doesn't make it any less of a great song, although it does make it shorter. Actually, "(New Wave) Polly" included, a lot of the songs on here are from BBC Sessions. Still, you wouldn't really notice. I guess the guitars are a bit tinny occasionally but I'm sure if the sleeve-notes didn't tell you otherwise you could easily presume they were simply cheaply produced. The production for most numbers doesn't actually sound like that of "Bleach" or Nevermind meaning, I guess, that they don't come from the same sessions; which is unusual for b-sides. The "Bleach" bonus track "Downer" is included, which is a shame as it is shit. I also think the final track, "Aneurysm", might date from the Nevermind sessions as it has the same feel to it. It is, like "Dive", a stand-out track. Unfortunately for me I used to have to play it as part of my band practices (not at my volition, of course) and thus there is no love lost between me and that song. It's pretty easy to play, actually. Still, even as a best track it ain't really one of Cobain's best ever compositions. At best, "Dive" is and that's all. Some of the shorter songs are quite funny in that they are eminently poppy efforts. The likes of "Sliver" and "Molly's Lips" might well be described as pop-grunge. I don't really like them, anyway. Now for the terrible songs. "Hairspray Queen" is, quite simply, one of the worst songs I've ever heard. I kid you not. I'm not even going to describe it, if you've heard it you'll know what I mean. "Beeswax" and "Mexican Seafood" try the patience a bit as well. With regards to "Big Long Now" Cobain at least got one thing right, it is long. And so very, very boring. And you would have thought a song with the name "Aero Zepplin" (-smith and Led- respectively) might be more interesting and less... well, boring. Neither of the two aforementioned songs are awful but they hardly set the world alight. Anyway, I guess I've awarded this 7* for the fact the first ten songs or so are all inoffensive enough. Some of the later songs are either downright dull or fucking awful, though. Not a great album.

From: John Morrison

Strictly speaking, it's not really a fair compilation of the band's non-album tracks so I wouldn't judge the band's ability by it. Fine songs like "Oh The Guilt" and their covers of such numbers as "Here She Comes Now" (the Velvet Underground) and "Return of the Rat"(the Wipers) couldn't be released by Geffen as they recorded them for independent record label compilations and were unable to obtain the rights to include them. They did some cracking non-album tracks before and following this record demonstrating Cobain was certainly much more than merely a decent songwriter. In Utero could have well included two songs by the name of "Verse Chorus Verse" and "I Hate Myself And I Want To Die" but instead they submitted them for release on relatively obscure compilations.

From: Paul Clarke

It's really unfair of you to compare the Smashing Pumpkins's Pisces Iscariot to Nirvana's Incesticide. While both collections were released at the same point in Cobain and Corgan's careers, the material is not from the same time. Most of the songs on Pisces Iscariot are from the Siamese Dream-era, while most of the material on Incesticide was written by Kurt Cobain before Nirvana even existed. "Hairspray Queen", "Mexican Seafood", and "Downer" were among some of the first noteworthy songs that Cobain wrote (yes, he wrote worse if the rumors about the Fecal Matter demo are any indication) and appeared on early demos. In fact, if I'm not mistaken, "Aneurysm" is the most recent track present here and the version on Incesticide isn't even from the Nevermind sessions. However, most of the album is still crap, and a 6* would've been generous enough.

From: Benjamin T Wallis

You mentioned that the ability of a band is often measured by its B-sides. Two things deserve comment here in response: Firstly, Incesticide featured many cover songs, which are not in any way indicative of Cobain's songwriting (or performing) abilities. Secondly, Cobain was a sole author, unlike the cited Radiohead team. Solo artists surely have a disadvantage any time they are compared to a group of writers; that much appears clearly as soon as you classify each. I expect Radiohead, with its several songwriters working together, to produce much more than any single man.

After that not-so-pleasant diversion through the murky world of b-side compilations we come now to Nirvana's third and final album. Kurt Cobain was, of course, to shoot himself in the head with a shotgun in 1994. And you might argue that the writing was on the wall with the lyrical content of this album. I don't pay particular attention to his lyrics, though, so I'll leave that to the more committed Nirvana fans. Or, indeed, Nirvana fans in general. I will point out, though, that if the line "I live my life like there's no tomorrow" was the perfect opening to Van Halen's debut album then "teenage angst has paid off well, now I'm bored and old" is the perfect opening to Nirvana's last album. Throughout the album it is painfully clear that Kurt Cobain was a man in a musical crisis. Part of him hated himself for the corporate rock of Nevermind (and rightly so) whilst the other half realised that he owed the fair-weather fans more commercially orientated rock. Thus this album is an uneasy mix between the two and, to be honest, something of a mess. Certainly the ironically titled "Radio Friendly Unit Shifter" sits uneasily alongside the slick grunge of "Pennyroyal Tea". At any rate, I don't really know why he felt obliged to offer some more corporate rock songs as this could have been a great alternative rock album. A song like "Scentless Apprentice" is a perfect mix of "Bleach"'s energy and Nevermind's superior songwriting. What really lets this album down is the corporate rock exercises. Actually that's not quite true. Even some of the uncommercial songs are not that brilliant. I think this album is just so emotionally heavy it is hard to really like, unless you're one of those Godawful wallowing Nirvana fans of course. Well, good songs ahoy, anyway. The opening duo of "Serve the Servants" and "Scentless Apprentice" is the premature peak of the album. It is unsteadily down hill from those two. "Serve the Servants" is more commercial rock but a great song nonetheless and the excellent "Scentless Apprentice" I've already lauded. I guess "Heart-Shaped Box" is also pretty good but it still has a whiff of corporate rock about it. Or commercial grunge at any rate which is equally as despicable. But only a whiff, anyway. Next is "Rape Me", though. Or should I say "Smells Like Teen Spirit" MKII 'cause that's exactly what it is. Boring commercial, slickly produced grunge. I've no time for it, whatsoever. Cobain then shoots off at a tangent with the following "Frances Farmer Will Have Her Revenge on Seattle" which is certainly laudable for not being more corporate rock. Still, though, it doesn't blow my mind or anything. Oh God and what about "Dumb"? Or should I say "Something in the Way" MKII. At least it is a bit faster than "Something in the Way" but that only succeeds in making it slightly less shit. "Very Ape" and "Milk It" go back into alternative rock and both, understandably, are decent efforts. Maybe "Milk It" is a little grungey (an odd criticism to level at a song on a grunge album) but the riff on "Very Ape" at least isn't recycled from Nevermind. A small sign of progress, perhaps? Next in the running order is "Pennyroyal Tea". Now the Unplugged version proves what a good song it is, but the stereotypical grunge blue-print used here simply robs it of any impact. And again, to make up for a shitty commercial grunge offering Cobain throws in a lo-fi alternative song, this time "Radio Friendly Unit Shifter" which it is most certainly not. And hurrah for that. It is actually, along with "Scentless Apprentice", the best alternative song on the album. I guess one of the best songs on the album, actually. "Tourettes", again, is alternative, simply consisting of screaming. Too alternative for my liking. It is almost painful to listen to, such is the emotionally draining nature of it. The album officially ends with the fitting epitaph "All Apologies". Again the Unplugged album shows it to be a good song but again, on here, it is given the wholly unnecessary grunge treatment. Why oh why? The European version of this album also includes a bonus track which is more lo-fi nonsense, "Gallons of Rubbing Alcohol Flow Through the Strip". Fun, though, in a way. Probably the only fun song on the whole album. To be honest this album is just too emotionally raw for me. I'm no chicken, though, so I'm not suggesting I've marked it down because of it. In fact there is no way I can give this album a higher mark on account of its messy inconsistency and the fact that many of the songs ain't anything special. Obviously the grunge songs are all pretty dull but even some of the lo-fi efforts fail to quite make the grade. There are moments of brilliance, though. I guess I have to at least concede that.

From: Carol Johnson

In Utero would be my favorite album. I understand that it would be too emotionaly raw and sappy for you, but that's really the thing that drew me to it. Actually in my ripe age of 13 I was really into Nevermind and thought it was the only good Nirvana cd. I've since seen the appeal in their other albums. Nevermind would probably rank third on my list under Bleach and In Utero. Just the thing is that In Utero has a bit of everything for me. Which you kind of pointed out, kind of. I could just feel Cobain's rage when I put this cd in everytime. The song writing on this album is superior for me other than any other Nirvana cd. I mean I don't know if you've given the "Milk It" lyrics a look but they're just grand.

I guess I should point out that there is another Nirvana live album, the posthumously released Live from the Muddy Banks of the Wishka. Or something stupid like that. Apparently, though, it isn't great and besides this album is actually pretty interesting. And pretty damn good at the same time. It might just be me but I think Cobain's songs sound a lot better stripped of their boring grunge templates and simply played straight. He also chooses some really inspired covers, meaning the material on here is mostly really good. Of course, the audience are odious but this is MTV, what do you expect? Cobain, himself, sounds a bit depressed (unsurprisingly, I guess) and I don't appreciate him being nasty to poor ol' Dave Grohl who tries to lighten proceedings up a bit with his affable charm. Finally, and I've made this point in my Bowie reviews, for an unplugged set it sure is funny that Cobain uses an electric guitar. I know it looks acoustic but it is simply an acoustic body with pickups and the rest installed inside. I know unplugged doesn't literally mean no electricity but given everyone else is simply miked up I don't see why Cobain has to resort to an electric guitar. It sort of spoils the sentiments. It is only really noticeable when he plays the riff on "The Man Who Sold the World" but it still annoys me. By the way, you wouldn't believe the grief I got from my so-called friends (they know who they are) when I brought that up about five years ago. Yeah, I still remember. It haunts my dreams. Well anyway it is noticeable that the best song on here isn't even written by Cobain. It is of course written by David Bowie who is ten times the genius Cobain ever was (and I've been chastised for saying that as well). I'm referring to "The Man Who Sold the World", by the way. Cobain even adds a guitar solo but it is mainly the straight-forwardness of it that perhaps even elevates it above Bowie's "mystical-camp" original. Almost half the set is made up of covers, as it happens. They run through three Meat Puppets' songs with the help of the Meat Puppets themselves. All three are pretty decent songs, "Oh Me" is the best, at a push, and certainly up there with most of Cobain's efforts. "Jesus Doesn't Want Me for a Sunbeam" is also a cover and the accordion is a nice touch. A good song, anyway. The set is ended with a quite simply inspired reading of Leadbelly's "Where Did You Sleep Last Night". Before-hand Cobain claims Leadbelly is his favourite artist, although I find it hard to believe. A little pompous if you ask me. Anyway, it starts off fine but as a climax Cobain really raises his voice and screams out the end, pretty much what he does best. An inspired reading of it and an inspired end to the album. Well, what about the Cobain originals? He opens with "About a Girl" from "Bleach" ("our first record, most people don't own it") and I'm certainly suitably impressed. "Come as You Are" is also given a perfectly fine rendition. Both songs seem fairly suited to acoustic (or pseudo-acoustic) renditions. A real gem is unearthed in the form of "Pennyroyal Tea". By tackling it on his own Cobain reveals a wonderful song, finally broken free from its derivative grunge constraints. It is also an utterly emotionally stark reading. In a way this is the song that I associate most with Cobain's state of mind and his subsequent suicide. The version of "All Apologies" also seems better without its grunge setting and certainly more emotional. Still, I'm running out of complements now. "Polly" is still a good song (a third version from five albums) but the version on here adds nothing to it. Probably a touch worse than the Nevermind version. "Dumb" is included, unfortunately, as, unlike with "Pennyroyal Tea", it is still pretty shitty. And what have we left? Oh, only two of Cobain's worst songs sitting smugly side by side. "On a Plain" is even shitter without its rock foundations and it would take something particularly special to elevate "Something in the Way" from its direness and this version certainly isn't it. I just can't understand why Cobain chose to perform those two. They're shit, didn't he realise it? What an idiot. Well, that's every base covered, as it were. What a good live album. And let's give Cobain a pat on the back for picking some covers to cover up his modest songwriting ability. And he still included two of his worst songs (and the poor "Dumb"), which is a shame. And now this page is finished and I never have to listen to Nirvana again. And at the moment that sounds pretty tempting. Maybe I'll still give "Bleach" the odd spin, and maybe this one, but the rest? God, I hate this band.